Magiqcam gone?

[Leigh Wanstead]

Originally Posted by Charles Papert

Now, as you have expressed your fascination for stabilized footage, perhaps you can share/discuss your favorite Steadicam scenes in movies you have seen? Or do you feel that you personally get more out of studying footage from someone closer to your level than the masters of your craft?

Hi Charles,

Thank you for giving me this opportunity.

I watched the video http://www.garrettcam.com/stream/gar...ument_256k.ram.

I think that Mr. Brown is great to combine multiple items together to create something new and works. I wish that I have that talent. Some shots in the movie "The shining" is really nice. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...n=130&v=glance
i.e. the camera chasing the kid riding the tricycle(I am not exactly sure if it should be called tricycle or bicycle). It really let you feel that you were in that environment. And that shot is really powerful to feel the speed. I still have not practised that shot. I think the beatuty of steadicam shot is try to simulate 3d shown on 2d screen by moving the camera. Mr. Brown mentioned on his site that someone just simply using one eye can drive a car around without problem which is the same using camera to move around. The camera is equivalent to one eye.

Steadicam shot and lighting both have the effect to simulate real environment.

I did not have chance to watch other great movies because of limited fund and time now. I only downloaded some demo video shot by steadicam operator from the internet. Do you know where I can found most demo videos by steadicam operator by internet? I have to go through the link http://www.steadicam-ops.com/, but not every operator has demo video which is pretty sad.

By the way, I found the best way to study shot without distracting by the movie content is just simply turn off the sound. ;-)

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards
Leigh

[Mikko Wilson]

wow.

- Mikko

[Charles Papert]

Originally Posted by Leigh Wanstead

Some shots in the movie "The shining" is really nice.i.e. the camera chasing the kid riding the tricycle(I am not exactly sure if it should be called tricycle or bicycle). It really let you feel that you were in that environment. And that shot is really powerful to feel the speed. I still have not practised that shot.

That is a brilliant shot, certainly caught the eye of many including me as a 14-yr old when the movie came out--that the was beginning of my interest in Steadicam. FYI, the rig was mounted on a modified wheelchair in low mode which allowed the lens to work lower than practical when body-mounted and also so that GB wouldn't suffer cardiac arrest from running that distance! There is a brief shot in the documentary on the DVD of this setup. I personally think that the real magic of that sequence is the sound design, as the hard wheels transition from wood floor to carpet and back again.

As far as looking at reels, perhaps on the Steadicam forum you can go through people's profiles and dig out the URL's for links. I do find that many reels are so quickly cut that the shots are hard to study out of context.

Do you have a service like Netflix in NZ yet? It's become so inexpensive to rent numerous DVD titles these days.

[Leigh Wanstead]

Hi Charles,

How many cycles on average for a steadicam shot shot in movie? Does that shot only once? Or ten times more until the director satisfied?

I was surprised that shot was not body-mounted as you mentioned. It seems there are really lots of creative shot can be done inexpensively and ease. I will try to get some wheelchair to experience. That sounds fun and relax. ;-)

Is there any movie to show you how to creatively use steadicam like you just described except go to the workshop and Mr. Brown's document movie clip on his website?

Yes, I can rent a DVD locally. Maybe I should try to rent it instead of buy DVD. ;-)

Regards
Leigh

Originally Posted by Charles Papert

That is a brilliant shot, certainly caught the eye of many including me as a 14-yr old when the movie came out--that the was beginning of my interest in Steadicam. FYI, the rig was mounted on a modified wheelchair in low mode which allowed the lens to work lower than practical when body-mounted and also so that GB wouldn't suffer cardiac arrest from running that distance! There is a brief shot in the documentary on the DVD of this setup. I personally think that the real magic of that sequence is the sound design, as the hard wheels transition from wood floor to carpet and back again.

As far as looking at reels, perhaps on the Steadicam forum you can go through people's profiles and dig out the URL's for links. I do find that many reels are so quickly cut that the shots are hard to study out of context.

Do you have a service like Netflix in NZ yet? It's become so inexpensive to rent numerous DVD titles these days.

[Charles Papert]

I've done two takes, and I've done 37 takes, depends on the shot, the director, the show etc. "The Shining" in particular had some record number of takes--GB reported that Kubrick rarely accepted anything before 40, and one non-Steadicam shot actually went up to something like 130 takes!

Vehicle or dolly-mounted shots present their own challenges. Very often you are not especially comfortable and/or having to stretch to reach the post or reign in the rig if shooting on uneven terrain. The little balance adjustments you can make when body mounting with your hips become more of a right-arm-strength exercise when hard mounted.

Hopefully when my training video comes out it will satisfy your interest in "creative" uses of Steadicam (although I wouldn't even categorize this as creative, it's just another facet of operating).

[Leigh Wanstead]

Originally Posted by Charles Papert

"The Shining" in particular had some record number of takes--GB reported that Kubrick rarely accepted anything before 40, and one non-Steadicam shot actually went up to something like 130 takes!

Wow, that must cost a fortune. Now I understand that why movie is so expensive to make.

Regards
Leigh

[John Steele]

Hey Charles, Sorry if you've been asked this a million times but how's the training video coming along, can't wait to see it. :)

John.

[Jim Morton]

I'm also having a problem with Animagique - I won the IIa on Ebay in September. Since I didn't have the $1550.00 at the time, the auction said that the IIa can be paid in monthly installments. John Gardner who's the owner of animagique said I can pay in three monthy installments which I just made my last payment on Nov. 25th. Now I've been trying to contact them by email and phone and never get a response. Their Ebay feedback ratings are now marked private so no one can see their negative feedback. The feedback wasn't that bad in September and I researched and read some good things about them and their stabilizer, that's the main reason I decided to go with the IIa. I've sent several emails and tried calling to them from the phone number on their website, but there's a recording saying "no one is available, try your call again later" well I've been trying and don't get through. Now I'm getting nervous because I paid big bucks and they never respond to emails. Trying to get a hold of them is ridiculous. I would say beware of this company because now I have to try to get my money back....

[Rob Mitchell]

Hi Jim,
I did the same thing last October when I bought mine off eBay. I finally took delivery at the end of January. John is hard to reach, and it seems he is getting even harder to contact. I had the webbing on one of the vest clips tear and have been trying since this September to get a reply on getting a new one, and without any response. It really is too bad, because I love the rig and have had great success with it, but based on all of the negative feedback coming out, I couldn't reccommend it and feel comfortable about doing so. Did you make the payments on a credit card? If so, you can dipute it through the credit card company. Good luck.
Rob

[Charles Papert]

Originally Posted by John Steele

Hey Charles, Sorry if you've been asked this a million times but how's the training video coming along, can't wait to see it. :)

John.

Hi John:

Hoping to schedule the shoot in December or January. The edit shouldn't take too long.

[Quoc Peyrot]

Charles, I'm telling you, you're going to be billionaire with all of us waiting for your video :)

Quoc

[Jim Morton]

Originally Posted by Rob Mitchell

Hi Jim,
I did the same thing last October when I bought mine off eBay. I finally took delivery at the end of January. John is hard to reach, and it seems he is getting even harder to contact. I had the webbing on one of the vest clips tear and have been trying since this September to get a reply on getting a new one, and without any response. It really is too bad, because I love the rig and have had great success with it, but based on all of the negative feedback coming out, I couldn't reccommend it and feel comfortable about doing so. Did you make the payments on a credit card? If so, you can dipute it through the credit card company. Good luck.
Rob

Hi Rob - well I have an update for you. I actually finally received an email from John today. Here's the email;

Our phone lines are down due to the rain. We got your last payment and will be shipping out your rig shortly.
We will contact you with a tracking number.
Thank you
John Gardner
Animagique

It looks like he's still in business and I'm looking forward to receiving the IIa. Hopefully it will be soon. I'll keep you posted. I hope you get your new webbing to get your rig operational again - three months is a long time. I know Animagique is a family owned business and it's probably a side gig for them, but man, contact us customers and let us know what's going on with orders and parts. A quick response is all that is needed from them to give a status on an order.

[Sean Morris]

Hi All,

I purchased a Magiqcam on the 12 Jul. 2005, and I am still waiting, it would
be nice to get a "real" firm answer from John, on a "real" shipping date...

It seems like a nice product, Hopefully I will receive it very shortly.

Cheers
Sean Morris
SYD/AUST

[Jim Morton]

Originally Posted by Sean Morris

Hi All,

I purchased a Magiqcam on the 12 Jul. 2005, and I am still waiting, it would
be nice to get a "real" firm answer from John, on a "real" shipping date...

It seems like a nice product, Hopefully I will receive it very shortly.

Cheers
Sean Morris
SYD/AUST

Hey Sean,
I won the IIa on ebay. Made 3 monthly payments. Trying to get in touch with magiqcam is IMPOSSIBLE!! Their customer service number on their web site is DISCONNECTED. I've been trying to email them. I did receive one email from John on Dec. 1st and I've responded 6 times - no reply. I'm going to ask for a refund - it's a good thing I put it on my Master Card each time I made a payment. This way I might have a chance of getting my money back. I would suggest to anyone who's interested in getting a Magiqcam - BEWARE!! Their customer service sucks and I don't believe they are in business any longer. No more Magiqcams on Ebay, no more customer service phone number, no more replies to emails. I wish you good luck on receiving yours.

[Jim Morton]

After sending 3 monthly installment payments for the IIa that I won on ebay back in September, I've decided to cancel it. I'm not one to complain but John at Magiqcam just doesn't communicate at all with his customers. I just called my credit card company to dispute the 3 installments and get my money back. Here are my main reasons for cancelling:

1) No communication - I sent about 12 emails inquiring about my order and called 3 times. I received 2 emails that just described an "excuse" for why he didn't contact me. Mostly they were "having problems with the phone company" and another, "heavy rains made their phone inoperable" - meanwhile John has a cell phone which I called and left messages on also. He could have called me on his cell.

2) On 12/1 the email also stated that he received the final payment and will be shipping the rig with a tracking number shortly. I responded asking him does he have an estimate when the rig will be shipped. One week later, no reply.

3) After I called his cell phone and talked to I believe was his wife, she told me to call customer service which I did. The customer service phone number was disconnected and no longer in service!

4) I received an email from him immediately today, 12/14 after I called my credit card company to dispute the purchase - why couldn't he return reponses that quickly when I was inquiring about the IIa? Geeezzzz..

5) I was trying to be nice about this, and all I was receiving was excuses. How does he intend to stay in business with terrible customer service?

So - what turned out to be a good price for something that I was really excited about getting just turned out to be one big headache and aggravation.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a stabilizer rig under $2,000 that works well with a DVX100a? Thanks and happy holidays.